Page 71 of Broken Destiny

Lucas glanced at his mother and then back at me.

“You staying for dinner?” he asked.

The question caught me off guard. I didn’t know if staying was a good idea or a terrible mistake. I didn’t know whether my apology had been accepted or if I had only made things worse. I had already crossed one line. I had no desire to cross another.

I debated within myself.

Lucas’s small gesture pulled me back to the past—dinners, movie nights, the easy rhythm of time spent with him, my nieces, and my nephews.

My stomach tensed, and I rubbed the back of my neck.

I didn’t trust Jiya yet.

I still didn’t know her side of the story, but discovering the truth about her marriage had shaken my assumptions, chipping away everything I thought I knew. Part of me realized I needed to investigate further before making any final judgments.

Maybe I would uncover something that confirmed my suspicions at dinner, or maybe I would find answers that challenged them. Either way, I needed clarity, and dinner didn’t seem like a bad idea.

“It’s Friday, so it’s curry night tonight courtesy of Geeta,” Lucas announced.

I turned and looked at Jiya.

Her expression had softened slightly, and she gave a small nod.

“Sounds good,” I said, “Thanks, buddy.”

I had no idea what to expect from the evening ahead. I didn’t know what consequences might follow now that I had agreed to stay.

Did I really want to invest my time and emotions into some sort of relationship—with her son, her daughter, and her now? If what I had discovered about Jiya turned out to be true—if she really was a gold digger—did I want to start something as simple and innocent as dinner with her family? Would I still be able to hurt her the way I once planned, knowing it would mean hurting Lucas or Emma too,even if only indirectly? Sharing a meal seemed innocent, but would it reopen old wounds or create new ones? And what if stepping back into their world would later make it hard or impossible to walk away?

What the hell have I got myself into?

Only time would tell.

22

JIYA

“Would you like to meet my friends and play with them?” Lucas asked Caleb, his face lighting up with a wide smile.

He had long abandoned the idea of taking a nap and was now outside, playing with his friends—and Caleb.

I hadn’t had much of a choice after that.

I was still upset with Caleb, but the innocence in Lucas’s voice when he asked him to stay for dinner made it impossible to say no without hurting him.

Lucas didn’t know why Caleb and I had broken up.

He had been upset with him earlier, and I couldn't help wondering if part of him had expected Caleb to stay in touch. He didn’t know the truth—that Caleb hadn’t been able to find us. That it had been me who had disappeared from his life after everything fell apart between us.

I had made that decision to protect myself and my child, and I had lived with the consequences ever since.

I didn’t want Lucas to know any of that.

He had been close to Caleb once. He had trusted him, looked up to him, loved him as though he were his father.

Watching them together again stirred a fear inside me. I worried Caleb staying for dinner might somehow lead to awkward moments or difficult questions. That was the last thing I wanted. I didn’t want to be cornered or forced to explain the past in front of my children. I didn’t want to lie to them while they stood there looking at me with wide, trusting eyes.

Earlier that day, I had asked Liam to take over the meeting. I had still been angry after what Caleb had said to me, and I needed distance. So I had taken the children out instead.